Not longer thinking about it.......bought!

[notoriousRJD]

So this happened this afternoon....will tune up and report back.

[Andy H]

Holy Reference, Batman!!!! We DEMAND more information: sizes, shell specifications, first impressions, sound, etc...

[time & groove]

Very nice.......Congrats! I'm thinking Piano Black but do I detect some wood grain? I tried to read the box. lol.

[notoriousRJD]

Ha...20 kick, 10x8, 12x9, 14x14 in Black Cherry....I know, they do look black in photo but its just dim lighting. I'm already kind of regretting not also getting a 16 floor tom. Haven't even had a chance to tune them up and play yet!

[Andy H]

Ha...20 kick, 10x8, 12x9, 14x14 in Black Cherry....I know, they do look black in photo but its just dim lighting. I'm already kind of regretting not also getting a 16 floor tom. Haven't even had a chance to tune them up and play yet!

The kit is absolutely spectacular. Your chosen sizes; 20, 10, 12 and 14 all work very well together. You don't need a 16. The 14 is plenty of low end. If it were me, I'd probably just play it as a 20, 10 and 14. I'm kind of a 4-piece kit kinda guy.

[time & groove]

I've loved that finish since it was introduced. I passed on some good sales/coupon deals a few times. Found my RFP, same sizes, used a couple years ago. It's too nice to be kept in my garage. Enjoy, brother!

[Tommy_D]

Congrats. I picked up a 10/12/14/16/22 RFP in Black Cherry a couple months ago. It's a nice kit and a nice finish.

[therocker]

Congrats. More pics are demanded! oh, and kill those regrets by getting the 16"!

[Andy H]

Congrats. More pics are demanded! oh, and kill those regrets by getting the 16"!

I used to gig almost exclusively with a 20-10-14 combination, playing mostly Metal. Guess what? Nobody noticed! The smaller sizes work great for all styles of music, especially when you have really high-quality drums like these.

[notoriousRJD]

Thanks for comments and feedback folks....few more pics....and some initial thoughts.

So, I ended up setting these up somewhat unorthodox to get them in a comfortable playing position for me. I am used to a 1 up 2down configuration with generally larger sizes (22 , 10, 14, 16). Until I can get better hardware for the Pearl mounts, I will probably try it this way.

Looks....these are gorgeous drums. I really wish I had better lighting in my drum room to show them off. The brass inserts set off against the chrome and the Black Cherry finish can only be described as sexy. The Fat-Tone hoops are just different looking enough to make you look twice....like you can't tell what it is but something looks cool about them. I will say there is something unsettling looking through the clear heads and seeing different woods. Moving from the 12" all maple light interior to the black hole of the 14" mahogany feels off aesthetically.....fortunately for the sound, there's a reason

You can definitely hear the different shell makeup across this kit. The 10" (with its birch/maple) has a quick attack and is tonally high pitched. The 12" all maple is "soft" and warm...mellow. The 14" (mahogany/maple) seems to resonate for days. I still need to play with tuning but the attack sounds hard to me and then it mellows to a deep and long-lasting "om". Something to note is that I've started my tuning experimentation by hand tuning....meaning, I literally don't use a drum key at all until a slight, maybe 1/4, twist to flavour. I also tune the batters and reso's fairly close...maybe a slightly higher tweak to the reso.

I was wary of the ick drum. this was my first foray into a 20" kick (mahogany). Out of the box it was pretty dead....in fact it sounded a bit like the box it came in. Then I did my same hand tuning and it opened right up. I have it slightly elevated (normal for me even with my 22") with the shell not touching the ground. It is punchy yet gives a deep boom. Much more articulate than my previous 22" ash kick.

So, first impressions are that these look gorgeous and sound great. However, I need to figure out the configuration. I am so used to 22, 10, 14, 16 that this "smaller" kit is throwing me off a bit. Again, maybe with some better mounting hardware I can get this to a more normal configuration for it's sizes.

Finally, to keep it in the family I paired the kit with my Pearl Sensitone Bronze snare (w/tube lugs) which looks stunning against the Black Cherry.

[Andy H]

Beautiful kit! (Even though you're a lousy photographer!)

Personally, I'd probably set it up the same way with 1 up 2 down. Sounds like there's a lot of "sonic space" between the 10 and 12. I'm guessing most of your tom fills will focus on these two toms and the 14" reserved for really deep stuff.

As for your hand-tuning concept, I've never heard this term before but it's pretty much how I tune. I turn every screw as far as I can by hand down at the threads. Once I do that, I start using a drum key. I'd say I go farther than 1/4 turn though. I'm probably tuning 1/2 to perhaps a whole turn after I have everything seated by hand. Size of drum matters a lot too. Usually I tune my reso a tad higher than the batter.

[notoriousRJD]

Maybe I invented a term . Was just trying to point out that I don't put a lot of key to it. Once I do initial finger tightening, I press down at each lug point and tighten again with just my fingers. With usually just a bit more with the key I can usually get the shell resonating pretty well. I don't tune to a note so I tune until I feel the drum kind of sings, and I find this to be a point that isn't very tight....especially on floor toms. Tuning always been a bit of a mystery so I like to play around a lot with it.

And yes, between the lighting, the tight space and the outdated camera phone my photos suck

[sticks4drums]

Maybe I invented a term . Was just trying to point out that I don't put a lot of key to it. Once I do initial finger tightening, I press down at each lug point and tighten again with just my fingers. With usually just a bit more with the key I can usually get the shell resonating pretty well. I don't tune to a note so I tune until I feel the drum kind of sings, and I find this to be a point that isn't very tight....especially on floor toms. Tuning always been a bit of a mystery so I like to play around a lot with it.

And yes, between the lighting, the tight space and the outdated camera phone my photos suck

It is called JAW tuning. Just above wrinkle.

[Drumming-4-Life]

I will say there is something unsettling looking through the clear heads and seeing different woods. Moving from the 12" all maple light interior to the black hole of the 14" mahogany feels off aesthetically

It is... all the more reason to get a second floor tom (or at least a 13" tom, because that will have the mahogany interior). If I ever got a Reference/Reference Pure kit, it would have 13/16f/18f/22, so all the interiors would be mahogany.

[Andy H]

Maybe I invented a term . Was just trying to point out that I don't put a lot of key to it. Once I do initial finger tightening, I press down at each lug point and tighten again with just my fingers. With usually just a bit more with the key I can usually get the shell resonating pretty well. I don't tune to a note so I tune until I feel the drum kind of sings, and I find this to be a point that isn't very tight....especially on floor toms. Tuning always been a bit of a mystery so I like to play around a lot with it.

And yes, between the lighting, the tight space and the outdated camera phone my photos suck

Well, you might be a lousy photographer but you sure know how to pick out drums! As for this "hand-tuning" concept, what do you say we just share the copyright and all the millions of dollars in royalties!

I have a lot of fun with tuning. I can literally spend hours dinking around with my drums trying different tunings, heads and configurations. I don't like to brag but... OK I do like to brag... I can almost get my entire kit tuned just by feel, without even a single tap or a drum tuner. (almost)

Thanks for posting your kit on this forum. Hang around and don't be a stranger.